Seed planter



March 6, 1945..

E. E. ENG,LUND

SEED PLANTER Original Filed Dec. 26, 1941 s Sheets-Sheet 1 March 6,1945. E. E. ENGLUND SEED PLANTER Original Filed Dec. 26, 1941 3Sheets-Sheet 2 l m on D 0 H w I \D L- o n q 3? n I l m o I O r 2 m O l ab I I (O I m {wanton ERNST [NGLUN MWRNEY! March 6, 1945. ENGLUND2,371,037

SEED PLANTER Original Filed liec. 26, 11.941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3-IINVEN'IZO'R ERNST 't. EuLuMD BY A'n'oRNEYs v Patented Mar. 6, 1945 SEEDPLANTVER Ernst E. Englund, Bellcvue, Ohio, assignor to The OhioCultivator 00., Bellcvue, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Originalapplication December 26, 1941, Serial No. 424,440. Divided and thisapplication August 7, 1942, Serial No. 453,953

2 Claims. (01. 97-230) The present invention relates to farm machinery,and more especially to corn planters.

This application is a division of my application Ser. No. 424,440, filed.Dec. 26, 1941, and entitled Seed planter. 7

Corn planters of the type prior to this invention are quite bulky insize, due in no small part to the fact that the large check ,Wire reelis carried at one side 'of 'the planter, thus materially increasing itswidth. Moreover, in these earlier machines it has been the practice toobtain the drive for the corn and fertilizer hoppers from ground wheelswhich usually extend rearwardly from the machine and thus materiallyincrease the length and bulk of the machine in that direction. There aremany otherdisaclvantages in these machines, for example, in the case ofthe check wire reel there is no practical way in which the speed of thereel can be adjusted to accom-' modate the increase or decrease of pullwhen the check wire is being wound on the reel or paid off the reel. Andthe absence of this adjustment may cause undue strain -to be placed onthe check wire or cause the wire to be loosely wound on thereel,depending on the specific winding operation.

In most types of earlier plantersthe changeover of the corn feedingmechanism from check to hill, or to the drill type of planting, is oftenof a complicated nature and as such may not be satisfactorily performedby the average farmer. Moreover, in the same connection, in earliercornplanters there is often no provision made by which the corn is preventedfrom being dropped during the time that the planter is moving across thefield at the end of its run going from one, pair of planted rows to thenext pair. It will be understood that the corn which is dropped duringthis movement of the planter is most likely wasted because the droppedcorn is placed at the end of the field, where it is generally impossibleto cultivate. The system of scoring or marking for the next double rowof planting has not been altogether satisfactory in these earlierplanters as the depth of the mark is not adjust able by the driver tosuit the conditions of the terrain, but instead is determined by thedepth to which a, marking wheel sinks into the ground, due to its ownweight. Obviously under these conditions, if the ground were hard, thewheel would not make as deep a mark as if the ground were soft, so thatit might be impossible for the operator of the planter to see the markedline which determines the next two rows for plantmg.

cept the shafts cut by the section line are in The primary object of theinventionis to provide a corn planter having an improved mechanism forscoring or marking the position of the next adjacent row or rows. Thisobject is carried out, in brief, by providing markers, preferably onboth sides of the planter and ,of the spade type, these markers beingcarried on levers pivoted to the frame of the planter in such a way thatthe operator can elevate or depress the markers by simply moving ahand-operated lever from his position on the planter.

The invention will be better understood when the drawings are studied inconnection with the following description.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the entire improvedplanter, together with as much of the tractor as is necessary to showthe mechanical connection between the tractor and 'theplanter.

Figure 2 is a plan view looking down on top of the improved planter.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 33 inFigure 2, and looking in the direction of the arrows. It is apparentthat in this view practicall 'all of the elements exelevation.

General description of planter framework As shown more particularlyFigure 1,' the, planter is adapted to be drawn over the field by anysuitable form of tractor, generally designated Land preferably providedwith heavy traction tires 2, inside mud guards 3 anda rear axlediiferential. The planter is detachably connected to the tractor at thediflerential housing by 7 means of a suitable form of rigid hitch.

The horizontal framework of the planter in general comprises a pair ofspaced U-shaped structural members 5, 6, extending transversely of themachine, together with a pair of heavy angle-iron p'eces I which extendacross themembers 5 and 5 preferably at positions where the greatestload is applied, which would normally be directly over the groundwheels. There is also a, third angle iron element which extends betweenthe structural members 5, 6 at a position, which corresponds with thecentral longitudinal,

axis of the planter. The outermost ends of the members 5, B areadditionally spanned by rigid bars 8 which carry. standard types ofpulley holders and tripping catches which are employed -in connectionwith the check wire planting operation. Depending downwardly from thstructural member 6 and at positions near the transverse angle irons I,there is a pair of spaced :pered ground wheels ll. serve to support therear end of the planter and carried on a 1 which may be .pivotallymounted, as indicated at l 1 85, on the .rear structural frame member 6.The other leg is pivotally mounted on a .bracket 8.6

I tural member 5.

brackets 9 which serve as hangers for a U-shaped shaft H] which carriesat its ends a pair of ta- These ground wheels in addition serve to coverup the seed corn after it has been planted.

, In order to provide for unevenness of terrain, jcompression springs [2may be inserted between ledges l'3 extending rearwardly of the frameand:

carried in cups M which are secured by av yoke A rod l6, preferframe isresiliently supported at the rear by the springs l2, these springsserving to rotate the shaft in until the wheels II contact the ground.

The front end of the rectangular framework is secured to thedifferential housing of the tractor preferably through a tr-iangularlyshaped hitch, and themain purposeof this bitch is to permit the frameof. the planter to be swingably elevated when-necessary so as to removethe wheels f H fromthe ground.

Marking structure and operation It is necessary to provide some form ofmark- 1 ing structure on one but preferably on both sides of the cornplanter to set out the proper distance from the last planted row theline over which the corn planter is to move for the next planting row orrows. For this purpose markers 83, prefjerably of the spade type andterminating in 1 cutting points, are employed. Each. marker is V-shapedbracket 84, one leg of which extends rearwar'dly from the front struc-An upright bar 81 .isriveted orotherwise secured to one .of the V-straps84,

.and chains 88 are taken, harness fashion, from the upper ends of thebars 81. to a loop formed in aleverBB. The lever 89 is .pivotallymounted ona ,plate 90 (Figure 2) which is supported on i the horizontalrod 25. i j j The lever 89 extends tothe operators position, 1 and thearrangement is such that when the operator'moves the bar in onehorizontal direction 1 one of the markers 83 is caused to be lowereduntilthe point thereof digs to a noticeable depth into the ground, andthe other marker is ele- 1 v-ated above the ground. When the lever 89 ismoved in the opposite direction, 'a reverse operation of the markers isobtained. Ithas'been customary, in this connection, to employ disc-'like wheels for marking purposes, these discs beingcarried on armswhich extend on both sides 1 of the planter, but I have found thattheimproved marker 83 is far more practical in that .it is extremelyrugged and tends to leave a read- Thus the r ily discernible marked lineof any desired depth which the operator can easilyv follow with histractor.

It will be understood that'I desire to compre- 6 hend within myinvention such modifications as come within the scopeof the claims andthe invention. a 1

Having thus fully described'my invention, what I claim as'new and desiretosecure by Letters Patent, is: 1. A planter comprising a horizontalframework having a pair of spaced. transversely extendingmembers, a seedhopper and a pair of rigid markers extending outwardly from the sides ofthe planter, each of said markers being carried on a V-shaped bracketone leg of which is pivotally mounted on one of said members and theother. legis pivotally mounted ona bracket carried by the other of saidmembers,and a, me-

shaped brackets and a common lever positioned at the drivers seat, thearrangement being such that as the lever is moved in one direction oneof the markers is elevated and the other marker is depressed, whereaswhen the leverv is moved in the opposite direction the last-named markeris elevated and the remaining, marker is depressed, rigid bars extendingacross the ends'o'f said transversely extending members, said bracketextending from one member toward, but spaced from, the other member.whereby said markers may be elevated without interference by one ofsaid bars with the upward movement of saidlast-named leg.

.35' 2. A planter comprising a horizontal framework having a pair ofspaced members'extending transversely of the planter, a seed hopper anda pair of rigid markers extending outwardly'from the sides of theplanter, each of said markers being carried ona V-shaped bracket one legof which is pivotally mounted on one of said members and the other legis pivotally mounted on a I bracket carried by the other of saidmembers, a rigid arm extending from one leg of each of said V-shapedbrackets on each side of the planter, an operating lever positioned atthe "drivers'seat,

ERNST E. ENGLUND.

chanical connection between each of said V- and a flexible connectionextending from each

